Kathmandu, July 10

The Department of Prison Management has launched computer-based Prison Management Information System to maintain records of prison employees and inmates.

According to the DoPM, the computer-based PMIS will eliminate the risk of mouse or termite attack and ensure that information regarding prison employees and jailbirds may be retrieved as and when required without any difficulty.

“The PMIS system reduces physical storage needs and enhance the productivity of the office. It would also help us search for documents and records without rummaging through piles of dust-covered files,” an official informed.

The PMIS is also aimed at enhancing security of records and streamlining work flow of the office by making it easier to store, share and access data.

The DoPM under the Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for ensuring safe custody, welfare, rehabilitation and reformation of jailbirds.

“We were in dire need of a central monitoring and information system for proper record-keeping amid frequent loss of prisoner’s data and redundancy of information,” he said, adding all the prisons throughout the country now share a common database and can update records of jailbirds in real time.

It is for internal purpose only, and the DoPM and jail administrators are its users. The PMIS would help the users know the number of inmates and employees in any prison of the country.

“The record is updated in real time soon after transfer and addition of jailbirds or employees. It also provides information about individual prisoner with their name, offence, citizenship and sentence period among others, apart from updating the details of jailbirds who have been released or granted amnesty,” he said.

The country has 74 prisons in 72 of 75 districts. Bhaktapur, Bara and Dhanusha do not have any prison, while Kathmandu and Dang have two prisons each.

The 74 prisons with a total capacity of just 11,500 persons were crammed with more than 17,905 jailbirds as of mid-April.